Anne Feeney, the American folk singer and activist who describes herself as a “performer, producer, hellish”, died at the age of 69 at Covid-19.
Her daughter Amy Sue Berlin announced the news in a Facebook post, calling her “brave, bright, beautiful … We were very lucky that she struggled hard to open her eyes and give us a few days to be with her before she finally decided it was time to let go. “
Born in Pennsylvania in 1951 and raised near Pittsburgh, Feeney started playing guitar as a high school student and gave her first performance at a rally against the Vietnam War in 1969. It was the beginning of a life combining activism and music, stepping up in the 90s after the release of their debut album Look to the Left in 1992, the first of 12 albums in all. His song Have You Been to Jail for Justice, later recorded by Peter, Paul and Mary, has become an anthem in all global protest movements.
Peter Yarrow of this trio was among those who paid tribute, saying that Feeney was “cheerful and passionate in his determination to use his music to uplift those who are most marginalized and move towards greater justice on earth”.
Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine called Feeney “a fearless and formidable force for justice and workers’ rights on stage, in the studio and on the pickets”.
A union advocate, she was the first woman to be president of the Pittsburgh Musicians’ Union and also a co-founder of the Pittsburgh Action Against Rape initiative.
She married twice, first with labor lawyer Ron Berlin in 1977, with whom she had Amy and son Dan. They divorced amicably in 1995, and she married Swedish artist Julie Leonardsson in 2002.